All of Fear Cast Aside
by twosignificantfigures
Summary: Set a few days before Stephen's funeral in Season 13.


**_Sunrise, I have run this far,_**

**_Still I find you._**

**_Sunrise, show my weary heart,_**

**_That a new day will soon arrive._**

**_A new day will soon arrive._**

* * *

In her experience as a profiler, Emily always felt like the weather was mocking her. Whenever the team was on stand-down or having a paperwork day, the sun would refuse to come out. But when they come home after an extremely gruesome and tiresome case, the sun was shining brightly. On these days, Emily envied the birds happily chirping away or Sergio sleeping soundly on her pillow, unaffected by the darkness her job offers.

Today, it seemed, was making fun of the turmoil she was feeling in her stomach. The sun was out. Children were happily playing in the park she drove past a couple of minutes ago. She swore she saw a rainbow a while ago, too. Emily, however was anything but; her hands were shaking as they gripped the wheel tight and her leg was bouncing up and down nervously. She had meticulously applied her make-up so that they hid the bruises on her cheek. She was exhausted, and all she wanted to do was sleep for days and hope that no nightmares would come to her but she had to make this trip. Hotch had to know, and while she would've happily let Rossi do it, he wasn't cleared to travel yet, so she had to do it.

The GPS beeped, alerting her she was nearly there. One hand flew to her mouth as she bit her nails, a nervous habit she had yet to break.

She lied to Mr. Scratch: she did know where Hotch was. In fact, she was the one who assigned an agent—Christian, one of her finest agents at Interpol, and a favorite one of hers and Clyde's—to make sure they're safe. Her mother, who had taken a liking to Hotch, remembered him from when he worked with her, had offered them assistance as well. She had a list of places she could send them to, a list she kept from her own time of hiding, but she ended up keeping them in the British Isles.

Aaron and Jack Hotchner became Christopher and Michael Olsen, and she sent them to a safehouse her mother had in London. It was a safe distance from the brownstone her mother had grown up in and inherited to not raise any suspicions.

"You have arrived at your destination," the robotic voice said. Emily sighed as she turned the car engine off. She stared at the house in front of her, profiling it from where she sat. For a non-profiler's gaze, the house looked normal with a normal family living in it. But she knew better. The house, she was sure, had bullet proof windows with all entrances having complex security systems. After all, it was a safe house, not a residential one, for that matter.

Emily sat there for what seemed like hours before she got out of the car and made her way to the front entrance. After she rang the doorbell, she stuffed her hands in her jacket's pockets and waited with bated breath. She heard footsteps and prepared herself for the reaction in Hotch's faces. She wasn't prepared for the redhead teenager who opened the door.

"Hi! I'm Laurie," the redhead said. Emily took note of her British accent. "Can I help you?"

Blinking twice to make sure this was, in fact, true and not some aftereffects the drugs had on her, Emily stuttered. "I, uh—"

"Are you looking for Christopher or Mike? Christopher's the only one here, though. Mike's still has football practice, but he'll be home in an hour."

"Christopher and Mike. Right," Emily repeated and winced when Laurie began to eye her warily. "Can you, um, tell Christopher that, uh, Emily Prentiss is here?"

"Why can't you tell him yourself?" Laurie asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, I would but my visit is actually a surprise," Emily replied with a tight smile. "Besides, I'm sure he would come running to see me once you tell him."

The teenager studied her for a moment before sighing and nodding once. "Come in. It's freezing outside."

Emily smiled and stepped into the foyer, thankful for the huge contrast between the weather outside and inside. She followed Laurie to the what seemed to be the living room and stayed there when Laurie said she was going to get Hotch.

She looked around the room, taking in the picture frames that decorated it. It was mostly of Jack and Hotch, and a few ones with Haley, but what caught Emily's eye was the middle photo on the mantle. She walked over and took the photo in her hands.

It was a photo of the team at Hank's baptism. Morgan and Savannah were standing next to Penelope, who was happily carrying her new godchild in her arms. Spencer stood behind them, beaming happily at the camera. Tara stood on Spencer's other side, making bunny ears on Rossi who looked amused while standing next to Savannah. Hotch was there beside her as she stood next to Morgan, looking happy and content. It was the temporary calm before the storm, a storm that tore the team apart.

She put the photo back on the mantle and turned, freezing on her spot when she saw Hotch standing behind her, shock painting his features.

"Emily," he said, and she felt her throat tighten.

"Hotch."

She was taken by surprise when he closed the short distance between them and wrapped her in his arms. She enveloped him in a hug when she felt him sobbing in her shoulder, letting her tears flow freely. She felt the anxiety slowly leave her body as they stood there, crying in each other's arms.

"I never thought I'd see any of you again," she heard him mumble.

She scoffed and moved her head so she was looking into his eyes. "Did you forget that the BAU, your team, is the best at what they do, or what?"

He let out a shaky laugh and hugged her closer to him. "It's good to see you, Emily."

"It's good to see you too," she said and hugged him tighter.

* * *

When Jack arrived and saw her and his dad hugging in the living room, the football gear in his hands were dropped on the floor as he ran towards her and hugged her tight, sobbing in her arms like his father. Emily held him close to her body and rubbed his back comfortingly, slowly feeling the tension leave his body.

Dinner, afterwards, had been eventful. A confused Laurie still stood on the stairs, trying to stay away from the reunion happening in front of her. Jack, after gathering himself, explained everything to her, from seeing Scratch in one of his games and then seeing him again in campus, to his dad sending him with a lawyer friend to Aunt Emily in London, to hiding and changing their names to Christopher and Michael Olsen. Emily saw the hesitation on both Hotchner faces when Laurie asked if she was Jack's mom.

Apparently, once you promise a man and his son safety from a psychopathic serial killer and, coincidentally, have similar eye colour with the son, everyone assumes you are the mother.

Emily was currently seated on the barstool, her chin resting on the palm of her hand as she watches Hotch clean up — she offered to help, but he, Jack, and even Laurie, insisted she was a guest. The latter two were now in the living room watching the second Avengers movie, and Emily couldn't help but chuckle as she heard the debates on whether Thor or Scarlet Witch was the strongest Avenger.

"Jack hated me for the first three weeks we were here," Hotch had spoken. Emily tore her gaze from the teenagers in the living room to him. She studied him as he sat beside her and poured two glasses of wine for both of them.

Emily had always associated Hotch to some kind of darkness, and it was this darkness she was currently seeing in his eyes. After everything that happened in the past year — hell, after Gideon had left nearly a decade ago — she couldn't help but wonder if this darkness would ever go away. But it wasn't only the darkness she saw. She also saw a mixture of exhaustion and relief, melancholy and happiness. She saw peace in his eyes.

"You did it to protect him," she said with a soft smile. "I'm sure he knows that."

"I took him from everything he knows," Hotch spat. "Jessica, his friends, his school, even from Haley. You have no idea how many times I heard him talking to Haley and apologizing for not bringing her flowers weekly. I didn't even know he did that."

"You and I both know that if you didn't do this, Jack wouldn't only be grieving Haley but you too," she stated firmly, trying to get him to stop blaming himself. "We profiled Scratch. We knew that once he had you both, he would kill you to find out if the same thing that happened to him when his father died would happen to Jack. Do you want that Aaron?"

Hotch merely closed his eyes and sighed. Emily pursed her lips together and took his hand, squeezing it lightly.

"Look, I know you think Jack hates you, and I know you wish you never brought Scratch in your lives, but this is all part of the job. Everyone expects us to leave all of this, this baggage at work, but with our job, it always finds a way to crawl into our personal lives. But Aaron, what you did, was what any parent would've done to protect their child. I know JJ would do the same if a serial killer starts stalking Henry and Michael. I know Morgan, Rossi, Matt, and Cruz would too. Hell, if I had kids I would do the same thing. We know how these killers work. And you did the right thing," Emily said. "So stop blaming yourself."

They were both silent for a while, and when Emily began to feel sorry for reprimanding him, she heard Hotch chuckle and he squeezed her hand back. He looked up at her with an amused grin on his face.

"You nailed the Unit Chief act," he said and grinned. Emily chuckled, rolling her eyes and lightly smacking his arm.

"What can I say?" Emily said with a grin. "I learned from the best."

"How is everyone doing?" Hotch asked, her hand still in his. It reminded him of the time he received a call from Morgan letting him know that Declan was missing. He was stationed in Afghanistan, and he knew the only person who could help them find the boy was supposedly dead but merely hiding in Paris. It was nearly four in the morning when he arrived at her doorstep, and when he told her Declan was missing, he watched as Sophie, her alias, slowly crumbled into Agent Prentiss, the agent who was determined to prove herself worthy of being in the BAU and who stood her ground when every member, including him, didn't trust her. The agent who owned compartmentalisation, empathised with victims, and connected with children better than any of them.

But it was the ride back to America where her walls slowly crumbled and showed Emily, who was the second smartest member of his team, if not as smart as Reid. The only woman who could beat Reid in poker and Gideon and Rossi in chess. The woman who drank coffee as if her life depended on it, and loved chocolate. The woman who put her life in the line of fire to make sure her friends, her family, would be safe. He watched as tears slowly began to slip down her cheeks and he let her cry in his arms when she couldn't control them anymore.

"We're recovering. The director is giving us an entire month of furlough. I was going to argue, but with everything that happened in the past few months, we deserve it," she sighed. "JJ, I think, is finally going on that trip to California with Will and the boys. She keeps denying it, but all of us know they're gonna be spending an entire week in Disneyland."

Hotch chuckled. "I bet Garcia's gonna have a field day when she sees all the photos of the boys with the Disney characters."

"I should tell JJ to prepare a photo album from Garcia," Emily giggled. "Garcia might head home to see her brother. I know she needs to get Scratch and Cat Adams out of her head before anything else. Tara might want to stay with Adrian and her dad."

"I heard about what happened. Are they both okay?"

"Honestly? I think Tara took it worse than Adrian did. Because of her job, Scratch abducted her brother and nearly killed him. And then there was the accident where everyone nearly died."

"Accident?" he asked, frowning. "What accident?"

Emily bit her lip when she noticed her slip-up. "We got a lead on Scratch, and all of us went. Halfway through, some spikes or something took out the wheels and he drove a truck right into us."

"Is everyone okay?" he asked. Emily felt her eyes burning up and forced herself to look away. "Emily."

"Stephen's dead," she said, her voice cracking. She felt Hotch let go of her hand. "He was sitting on the side where Scratch hit."

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this? All I knew was that Adrian got abducted and Reid got imprisoned," Hotch said, his voice becoming louder. Emily glanced at the living room and saw Jack eyeing his father worriedly. "I'm sorry."

"Aaron—" she began to say but he was already out the door. "Great," she sighed, wiping her tears away. She looked up and saw Jack leaning on the doorway with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "Hey."

"Hi," the teenager replied with a shy smile. Emily smiled back and pat the seat next to her, which Jack took immediately. "You look good, Auntie Emmy."

Emily grinned. Only Jack and Henry called her Auntie Emmy, which came to be when one year old Jack was first introduced to her and couldn't pronounce 'Emily.' The name stuck since then and until Henry was born and old enough to speak. She was sure that, if things go as she hoped they would, Hank would be calling her Auntie Emmy.

That hope, however, is slowly diminishing as every minute passes.

"You don't look so bad yourself," she said, placing an arm over his shoulders. "So, did you tell Laurie everything?"

"Mostly everything. I didn't tell her about why you left the BAU five years ago. I figured that was your story to tell, not mine," he explained. "I'm sorry about Dad. He's been like that since he sent me to you."

Emily let out a humorless chuckle. "And here he's saying you're the one who had trouble adjusting."

"Well, he is a little bit right. I nailed the angsty bitter teenager act until I met Laurie," Jack said, adding the last sentence shyly. He rolled his eyes at Emily's look. "It's not like that."

"I'm not saying anything!" Emily teased.

"Yeah, well your face is already speaking volumes. Auntie Penelope would be proud," Jack said.

"Oh you're too smart for your own good," Emily laughed. "I'm glad you have Laurie. WitSec is terrible if you're dealing with it alone. Trust me, I know."

Jack looked up. His curious eyes studied her for a moment, reminding Emily of the teen's father when he was trying to profile her. "What was it like for you back then?"

She sighed and tapped her nails on top of the counter. "It was, for a lack of a better word, lonely. Everyone I loved thought I was dead, and the probability of me coming home was low. Paris was beautiful, but it wasn't home."

"I think that's how Dad feels most times. He wants to go home."

"Do you think he still wants to?"

Emily watched Jack as he stared at the door his father disappeared into, his frown deepening. It was something Emily often saw in Hotch when he was concentrating, and she wished the moment wasn't so serious so she could make fun of Jack for doing it.

"I'm not sure," Jack replied. Emily felt her stomach churn. "He got a job three months ago at a legal department. He's been smiling a bit more since then."

"And what about you?"

"I miss Aunt Jessie. And I miss every one of you guys. But I already have friends here," Jack said. "I'm in the football team again, and in two weeks we're training for this game the school got invited to join."

Emily felt hopelessness sink in deeper, but she smiled and ruffled Jack's hair. "Football, huh? I see you're starting to adapt the British slang, darling," she said in a British accent. Jack gave her an unamused look. "I'm teasing. I'm glad you adjusted well. I wish I could see you play."

"Why can't you? It would be great to see you there," Jack said.

"I'll try my best, Jack, but I can't promise. We might get a case," she explained. At the sad look on the teenager's face, Emily took his hand. "But I promise I'll get Christian to drive Aunt Jessica to your game."

Jack glanced at her with wide eyes, and she smiled when he immediately wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"Anytime, kiddo," she laughed, hugging him back. "Now go back to your movie. I need to talk with your dad."

Jack nodded and let her go before making his way back to the living room. Emily waited for a few seconds for the movie to be resumed, and when she heard Robert Downey Jr.'s voice, she stood up and made her towards the balcony Hotch ran off to.

She stood beside him and leaned her arms against the terrace, sighing. "You didn't tell me you got a job." Her tone wasn't filled with accusation, but rather with curiosity.

"I didn't think it was relevant at the meantime," he said.

Emily rolled her eyes and fought the urge to hit him. "You got a job at a legal department, Hotch. How is that irrelevant?"

"I don't know. I just thought that with everything that was happening to every one back at home, I just thought it wasn't that big of a deal," Hotch admitted.

"We could've used the good news," she said, nudging him slightly. "I guess congratulations is in order then." Emily smiled when he chuckled, showing off his dimples.

"Do you know what it is?" he asked, meeting her eyes this time.

"Jack said it was in a legal department," she shrugged.

"I figured," he said. "Did he tell you what legal department?"

"Not really, just assumed he doesn't know or forgot," she replied, but of course, even Hotch could tell that she knew better. She remembers Hotch telling her that Jack had an elephant's memory, and she herself noticed that he had a knack for remembering tiny details. It was another trait he got from his father.

"Elizabeth visits randomly," Hotch said. Emily nodded. She noticed how Hotch had called her mother Elizabeth, but she would question him about it later. "Two months ago, she offered me a job."

"Hotch, that's—" Dangerous, she wanted to say. Scratch was _too _good with computers to the point that he got Penelope pulling her hair in frustration. If he worked for his mother, his name would probably show up in her records and raise a few red flags. It was one of the reasons she and her mother had limited contact as much as possible, not that they had nightly calls, but it was better than their old routine. She wanted the three of them safe. But she remembers Jack telling her Hotch had been happier since he got a job, and she held herself back.

"I know what you're thinking," Hotch said, taking her hand in his and guiding her to a seat nearby. "But Elizabeth knew what offering me a job would entail. Her attorney resigned, but she promised to keep me at a lower, much more hidden position until Scratch is caught."

"But now that he is, she can give you that position," she finished. She smiled and squeezed his hand. "That's amazing, Hotch. I'm proud of you. Really, I am."

Hotch smiled and placed his free hand on top of hers, rubbing his thumb on its back. He knew what having a job in London meant; stability, not just for him, but for Jack, too. And he knew Emily knew that.

"After Haley died, Strauss visited me in my apartment," he began to explain. "She offered me early retirement, basically an out from our job."

"Did you consider taking it?"

"I did. I really did. My son lost his mother because I brought a monster into their lives. I almost lost him then, too. It was an out, but I didn't take it because I wasn't ready yet. Haley died because of me, and I wasn't gonna give up that quickly. She wouldn't have wanted that."

Emily smiled and looked away, taking in the London sights. Her mind drifted off to a time when she used to stare at the same sights from her flat, and she found herself missing it. London was, for lack of a better word, nice. It gave her a new team to take care of, an opportunity to reconnect and mend broken bridges with her mother. She met Mark here in London, and if it wasn't for him, she probably wouldn't know that she was still capable of love and being loved. London was a fresh start, a new slate. London cleared her clouded mind. London helped her reestablish who Emily Prentiss was.

It could be the same for Hotch. He never got a chance to be there for Jack the way he wanted to, but London was giving him a second chance. It was his second chance to put the gun down and leave the monsters in the past. It was his second chance to be happy. Emily would fight anything that blocks Hotch and Jack from getting this second chance.

"This is your out then," she said. "You deserve a normal life, and it can only happen here. So take it."

"I'm sorry," he said. Emily chuckled, a few tears escaping her eyes. She let go of his hand and hastily wiped them away.

"Don't be, Hotch. We're going to be okay. I promise you that," she assured him, smiling. "You deserve this."

"I don't want to leave you all behind," he said. His voice was his usual monotone, but a glance at his eyes let Emily know this was hard for him as well. Like her, the team was a family, a bunch of brothers and sisters for him, and uncles and aunts for Jack. It was a safe haven. But as much as he loved them, Jack was his priority. "But I can't risk Jack's life anymore."

Emily took both his hands and squeezed them. "I understand. Jack comes first. He always will." She smiled at him. "You're a good person, Aaron. But you're a better dad. You would do everything for Jack, and we all know that. Don't worry about them, they'll understand. You know they will."

"I never got the chance to properly thank them," he said, his voice laced with emotions. Emily pulled him into her arms, wrapping him in a comforting hug. She felt hot tears on her shirt and rubbed his back as they both cried silently on the porch.

"Just because you're permanently staying in London doesn't mean you're never gonna go back," she told him after sniffling. "You can always visit. I'm sure Jessica would love that."

Hotch laughed and pulled her closer to him. She was practically on his lap but she ignored it. If it was a different situation, she would find it awkward, but right now he was a friend in need of solace. And that, she could offer.

"You'll be okay," she promised him. "We all will be."

* * *

On her last day in London, she told Hotch about her abduction, not to make his guilt deepen, but to let him know he's not alone, that he could talk to her whenever he wanted, something similar to what he told her about bad days after Doyle.

"What did you see when Scratch got into your head?" she asked. Jack and Laurie were in class, they had the house to themselves. They were both sitting on the living room floor with their backs leaning against the couch, sipping wine as they let a television show—Game of Thrones, because Tara had threatened to spoil Emily if she doesn't catch up with the show—play in the background.

"The team," he said, swallowing hard. Emily turned her attention from the show to him, knowing that Hotch talking about his time with Scratch was never easy. If she didn't pay attention, it may never happen again. "They all went to rescue me, and they all died."

"Hotch."

"I saw Reid die in JJ's arms. I saw him bleed out. I still have nightmares because of it," he admitted.

"I'm guessing you haven't told anyone about this since it happened," she said. He stared at her and she shrugged. "You're not the only profiler in the room, and need I remind you, I'm the BAU Unit Chief now."

"Very funny, Prentiss," he said with a light chuckle. "What about you? What did you see?"

Emily bit her lip and stared at the television. Like Hotch, she never told anyone about what she saw, other than what Tara had told them. They only knew that she saw herself injured to the point of never being able to go back to her job. They knew that she saw herself die again, which made her realise it was all a lie. They don't about that she saw Ian smiling at her, the way he used to when she was still Lauren. They don't know that she saw her grandfather in his house in the French Alps, telling her that dying isn't as painful as it seems, and maybe it would be the only way for her to find peace. They don't know that she saw a woman in a white dress sitting in a field of dandelions. She had dark hair and pale skin, and even without looking up, Emily knew it was her unborn child.

Emily wiped the few tears that escaped her eyes before she spoke in a low voice, "I saw my daughter." From the corner of her eye, she saw Hotch open his mouth before pursing his lips together. "We were in Rome. I was fifteen. I was so angry with my mother because she promised we would stay longer in Greece, but we were there for three months and then we moved again. If you're constantly moving around, it's hard to fit in. I was glad I had Matthew, but it's still so hard. I became desperate, and I did anything so I could fit in."

"You got pregnant," Hotch said. It wasn't a question, rather a statement. He said in a tone that wasn't accusing either, which made her feel worse. He should judge her for what she did, but like Rossi, he's silently letting her know that it wasn't her fault.

"I couldn't tell my mother, so I told Matthew. We went to a priest to ask what to do, and he said that if I got rid of it, I won't be welcome to the church. That was when Matthew started to question everything, but he still helped me. He found a doctor, and he held my hand throughout the procedure."

"You were young," he said.

"Not that young," she snapped. "I was a fifteen year old girl who killed an innocent child because of my stupidity."

"If you didn't get rid of it then, do you think your mother would've allowed you to keep it?" Hotch asked gently.

"I don't know," she mumbled.

"It was a yes or no question, Emily." She glared at him, but shook her head. It would've ruined her career, Emily thought. Maybe the Elizabeth Emily knows now would've allowed her, but certainly not the Elizabeth from when she was fifteen years old. "You know how foster systems work. Your daughter would've been miserable, Emily."

"It doesn't eradicate any guilt I feel," Emily said.

"Seeing Jack alive and safe doesn't eradicate the fact that I nearly got him killed again. It doesn't make it less easier to remember that Haley was murdered. But seeing him alive makes me feel a bit better," he told her as he took her hand.

"I don't regret doing it. But I think, I think that I just never let myself think about it because of how I got pregnant that when I do think about it I can't seem to function properly, " Emily squeezed her eyes shut and let the tears flow freely down her cheeks.

Hotch pulled her to him and rubbed her back in comfort as she sobbed silently.

* * *

Stephen's funeral was, once again, a sunny day. Only this time, Emily refused to believe that it was the universe mocking her. She wasn't a big believer of god, but she knew he was there, and she believed that the sun shining down on them was Stephen's way of letting them know he's grateful his death wasn't in vain. There will always be a pang in their hearts at the memory of Stephen's death, but as the old saying goes, time heals all pain.

It was time, she believed, her team needed. With their job, death was an old friend they often encounter, but it doesn't mean the pain is now inexistent. It only makes the pain more bearable, but somehow the pain still resides. She wasn't there to witness their pain when Gideon and Strauss died—hell, she was dealing with her own kind of agony when she died—but from what Hotch told her, they needed time before they get to deal with it. Time, she's going to give them.

Emily placed her hands on top of her usual seat as she waited for the rest of her team to enter. The night before, Emily received a text from Rossi telling her that the team planned to have dinner at his place after Stephen's funeral. She confirmed that she would be there, but she asked everyone, including Reid and Matt, to meet her at the conference room before they head to Rossi's house.

Rossi asked her what Hotch had said, and even though she wanted to tell him everything Hotch told her, she wanted to tell the team together, so all she replied was: "He's happy." Somehow, Rossi understood what it meant.

Hearing footsteps, she straightened her posture and looked up as JJ entered the room with Penelope, Reid, and Matt. The blonde gave her a comforting smile, and Emily tried her best to return it.

"I wanted to thank you for your help," Emily started. Looking around the room, she took in the exhaustion each person tried, and failed, to hide. Her eyes landed on Matt Simmons, and she gave him a soft smile. "All of you."

Matt's eyes squinted as he returned the smile. "Well it was good to be of help. Ever since the IRT went down, I've been sitting on my hands waiting for a new assignment."

"We should sit down tomorrow and talk about that," she suggested.

"I'd like that," Matt replied. Emily watched as Penelope wrapped an arm around his waist proudly.

"So," she cleared her throat. "We all need to discuss what Peter Lewis' death means to us."

"It means Hotch can come back," Penelope stated in a small voice. Emily bowed her head and chewed on her bottom lip. "Right?"

"We spoke to him," Rossi said. "He was relieved that he and Jack were out of danger. They're out of Witness Protection but—"

"He's not coming back, is he?" JJ asked. Emily didn't need to look up to know that all eyes were on her this time. She had a feeling her team was aware she knew where Hotch was hiding all this time.

"He loves being a full-time dad. He's never got a chance to do that before," Emily began. "And let's face it: in this job, there's always going to be another Scratch. He can't risk Jack's life anymore. He's already lost too much."

"We all have," Tara stated sadly.

"Yes, we have," Emily sighed. "Which is why the director has ordered us to take a month of furlough. But before we all leave, there's one last thing I need to say." She swallowed hard and took a deep breath. "Scratch got deeper into my head than I care to admit."

"Emily," Penelope gasped. The rest had concern and worry painting their facial features.

"I saw things other than what Scratch made me see. The only way I was able to stay sane and not get lost in visions was by repeating a mantra, two words," Emily said. "You wanna know what those two words were? 'Wheel's up.' It saved my life when I was sure I wasn't going to make it, because I was sure you were out there fighting. You would do anything to make sure I would get out of there alive. So take your rest. You've earned it. But when you get back, wheel's up Matt."

Matt looked at her in surprise. Emily smiled at him and nodded. Welcome to the team, that was what she meant. "Wheel's up, Emily," he nodded in understanding.

"Wheel's up, Tara."

The woman smiled and nodded. "Wheel's up."

"Wheel's up," JJ stated when Emily glanced in her direction.

"Wheel's up."

"Wheel's up."

"Damn right, wheel's up."

All heads turned to look at Reid, who stared at Emily in return, a question in his eyes. She raised an eyebrow at him and quirked her lips in a smirk. He nodded in understanding.

"Wheel's up."

* * *

**Slightly (or completely?) OOC, I know and I'm sorry, but I like to think that Emily and Hotch had shared life experiences that made them understand each other so well to be comfortable with physical contact, yet at the same time, they both had enough differences to find a balance and maintain the platonic-ness of their relationship. Besides, I have a theory that Hotch was assigned as Emily's temporary personal bodyguard when he worked for her mother, and she drove him completely insane, but they wrre secretly fond of each other.**


End file.
